"to be in a wonderful state of creative chaos due to an overactive imagination that is always questioning...what if"

Post navigation

After one whole year of dreaming and scheming about my creative life, it is my pleasure to introduce you to my brand new, shiny website! Pop on over here juliehamiltoncreative.com for a visit

Once again, my main feature will be my blog and portfolio, but I have also added a shop! My very own storefront! It is looking pretty empty right now, but not for long. I have all sorts of plans to fill it with happy and colourful new art for you.

A big shout out and thank you to Erin and LiveBig who gently guided me through the growing pains and helped point me in the right direction. Only a good friend could have stood by me through numerous art therapy discussions about who I really am as an artist. As you will discover, I still haven’t narrowed it down. My portfolio runneth over…

I like to do it all! I have decided That is who I am. There is just no going back.

My hope is to once again provide creative inspiration to you here on the Blog. I love the creative process, all of the play and possibility. I will continue to share with you my favourite classes, new techniques, different mediums and inspiration.

I have also started a new series on Instagram called #Sketchbook_Studies. Pop by and have a look here. I have been sharing my process pictures, but it will be nice to have a home to discuss it.

That’s all for now! I just wanted to say Welcome and thank you for popping by! Once again here it is juliehamiltoncreative.com You will be able to sign up for my newsletter there too!

I love to be social so for daily communication please pop by my Instagram and say hello.

I was fortunate enough to be away on the Big Island with family and friends over the holidays. While my intentions for goal setting and lots of productive time, writing, soul-searching and creating art were a top priority, reality got in the way and it was replaced with lots of meal making and carting kids around to hot surf spots.

Oh woe is me:)

So here I am starting the New Year with no set plan in motion, but instead a feeling of gratitude and contentment. I would say that is a good start to any year!

I spent my spare time painting and cutting paper into shapes inspired by all the crazy, tropical foliage surrounding me. I played with some different textures and colours and I experimented with their placement.

I will admit to running out of medium to glue it all down, but soon discovered that I loved the freedom of being able to move it all around.

I had more than one moment of frustration as the wind blew it all away..

I think I could be very happy playing with bright colors and designing this way everyday. I love that feeling of excitement that comes with the discovery of something new, a new idea, new colours…anything new.

These will all be made into prints for art licensing soon.

I am excited about the new year, but here I sit, almost 2 weeks in to the new year, with no set plan of action written down. I have lots of ideas and goals for this year, but right now they are flying around with no accountability whatsoever.

My plan for this week is to take a half hour out daily to reflect and get these intentions in action. There is no time like the present. Just start!

A little pep talk from me to you.

Sharing with you a few resources that I always find helpful to help start me on my way:

It is a bit of a Winter Wonderland right now in Whistler. Everything is exactly like it should be.

WHITE

We have had endless days of snow, the twinkly lights are all lit up and the skiers have arrived for what has proved to be the start of an epic season. So much fun hooting and hollering through the snow drifts. It restores my love for here.

Thankfully with all the snow has come a pile of Christmas spirit. I have been in Christmas mode over here designing and decorating. It makes such a difference doing it now, versus in April, when the sun is starting to shine and the grass and flowers are beginning to pop. My goal is to get as much created now while inspiration strikes.

A series of wooded boughs and all things natural. I love the woodland feel of these. I am still painting and cutting daily and have enjoyed adding all of this Christmas flora and foliage to my portfolio.

A few colourful paper-cuts have been compiled all with a festive feel. I still like bit of traditional red and green for the holiday season.. plus it still sells well in the art licensing world!

It’s the time of the year to doodle, paint, stamp and play your way through the holidays.

The illustrated advent challenge is on!

So far I have counted 4 groups participating, but I am sure there are many more. Feel free to check out their accounts and play along. It is a great way to get inspired, meet others in your community and make work for your portfolio.

Last year I participated and made a ton of work for my portfolio. A few pieces derived from the month got licensed, the others I chalk up to practice and experience. This year I will not be illustrating one, but will continue to make art everyday concentrating on areas that need work.

I will post a round up of all the great images I have been seeing here later in the month.

The snow is falling, the lights are up around town and the mountain is open and ready for action.

It has been a beautiful Fall. Lots of brilliant colour and crisp, clear days… interspersed with torrential downpours, low-lying cloud and very short days.

I love it all. The worse the weather the less motivated I am to get outdoors and play. I feel less guilt for cozying up indoors and creating.

November, you have been true to yourself. Thank you.

Inspired by all the fall colours – red, orange, faded greens and greys. A peek into my sketchbook proves that these are probably my most favourite colours.

I have been slowly updating my work around here. A new branding is in the works based on pen, paper, paint and pattern. I am updating my site to include all of my hand painted and collage work. I am loving the process of creating all new artwork in this style, but admit it is a bit of a slow process. So far I have managed to change my name from ‘Artistically Afflicted” to Julie Hamilton Creative.

Small steps.

I will be keeping the blog all full of my afflicted ways, but will have a separate portfolio site.

I am dying to get my hands on Fiona Humberstones new book How to Style your Brand It has been sold out forever and finally just when I thought I could get my hands on it, they wouldn’t deliver to Canada. Crazy. Check out her site for lots of beautiful images and helpful advice on branding You.

I haven’t given myself an end goal date as I am trying to take this slowly and be in love with the finished product. I know what I want to create, but just want to make sure that I am representing myself the way that I would like to be perceived. Trust me, sometimes I am not even sure what that looks like.

It is a start!

In the mean time my licensing work is busy.I have a new embroidery contract with Janome (Acudesign) which I will be sharing shortly. I have another piece being published in Stampington & Co. and I am busy creating a new concept for a dream client. It is all about forward momentum and not losing sight of the Why.

Sharing with you a few things going on in and about the world-wide web:

Lilla Rogers, art agent extraordinaire, is giving a video presentation this week all about embracing and selling your creative quirkiness. Have a look here for more information. There is still time to join in.

Flora Bowley has started a monthly newsletter/video series, Studio Diaries. I haven’t joined in yet, but I am thinking about it for the New Year. Art prompts, videos, creative lessons, questions and answers and just general Flora loveliness. More information here.

I have been enjoying ( and using) Jennifer Nelsons weekly Advice for Artists. Sign up here. She also offers a one on one consultation service if you are interested. See her website for more details. Make sure to check out her artists – all swoon worthy

Finally, don’t forget, it is the weekend of all sales. Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In the past I have received some outstanding discounts on online creative courses.If there is something you have your eye on then don’t forget to pop by your want list and see if they are offering a discount.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends. It is a big and busy weekend here and always brings with it a sense of celebration and the start of the holiday season. Makes me happy!

Inktober was started in 2009 and is still going strong today. Mr Jake Parker, the creator of the project, has assigned very few rules

Pick up a pen, draw, hashtag it #inktober, repeat.

Anyone can take part and it seems like artists from all over the world do. I posted a picture and within 2 min 100 more pictures had been posted!

The goal is to practice your drawing skills and develop the positive habit of doing it daily.

Below are a few examples of my own work and a few from others within my surface pattern design community. Click on the pictures below for direct links to their Instagram accounts.

Julie Hamilton

Playing with light and dark. Flower shapes, some seeds and pods and an owl for good measure. When in doubt stick a bird on it.

Julie Hamilton

Next we have Katy Halford. I found it hard to choose between all of her lovely drawings. This one made me smile so here it is

Katy Halford

Mary Tanana made some beautiful drawings on black paper with touches of gold, courtesy of uniball gelpens.

Mary Tanana

Heather Dutton spent her time illustrating every letter of the alphabet with beautiful patterns. Check out her instagram account to see more.

Heather Dutton

Amanda McGee pretty much described all of us with her illustration. I am a big fan of her beautiful hand lettering!

Amanda McGee

Below is Flora Chang of Happy Doodle Land. Her name says it all. She loves to draw. Check out her new colouring book!

Flora Chang

Inktober will be back again next year, but don’t let that stop you from picking up a pen and just busting loose. Until then, feel free to share it with the rest of us on hashtag #shareyoursketch – another fun community to share your creative process.

Jane is fun, quirky, straightforward, very creative and a whole lot spontaneous!

I had the pleasure of spending all last week with Jane Davies on the Sunshine Coast of B.C. Three days of Big Fat Art and another two of Monoprinting with the infamous Gelliplate. I was definitely in my happy place spending long days just creating with no means to an end, making unexpected marks, combining new colours and exploring lots of layers.

A little ukulele playing did not hurt the process….

We spent the week exploring fast, carefree mark-making with various mark making tools, charcoal, water-colour crayons, ink and pastel. We combined unexpected colours, playing with opaque and transparent colours. We added texture through the use of paint and handmade collage papers.We learned how to add lots of depth to our work. We even added a few drips here and there.

We had a lot of laughs and a lot of fun.

Most importantly though we silenced the inner critic within and created with no concern for what is right and what is wrong.

To be truthful, it wasn’t easy. It can be a little disconcerting to try new things and work against principles that have been ingrained in you by every art teacher and book out there.

What I loved about Jane was her constant encouragement to push past what we already know and try something different, and her love for the creative process versus the finished outcome.

For me that included No imagery – no flowers, birds or other whimsical things flying around and, gasp, maybe putting some purple in my work.

Ok, some things I just couldn’t manage to push myself past, BUT look how awesome it looks below with the reds and yellows!

This, once again, reminds me of the importance of keeping an art journal. A safe place to try out new marks, colours and techniques. A place to make some really bad art with hopefully some unexpected surprises of greatness!

Here are a few of my works in progress. A few things I learned about myself:

I am a wee bit scared of the abstract. I still don’t feel comfortable with the tension it often adds to work.

I also learned that I need to add more areas of rest and lightness to my work. I need to take a deep breath and work on the details of each smaller piece within the bigger whole, to be more mindful and to slow down and sit with a piece before I call it finished. I need to add more interestingness to my work either by contrast, line or layering.

What a great week! I could spend all day, everyday, creating.

For more info on Jane please visit her website. Do not miss out on her tutorials tab. Jane is very generous with her knowledge and discoveries and has dozens of great video tutorials to share. Small doses of creative inspiration!

She also offers online and real life workshops. Sign up for her newsletter for more info on upcoming courses.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to send me an email.

Have a great week! I hope the sun is shining and the autumn leaves are in full color for you.

A little art – Big enough to make your mark, small enough so that you can finish in one sitting.

I am loving Victoria Johnsons #alittleart project. Victoria started this personal project one month ago and invited others to play along. Like all good ideas, this one took off!

The place to play along – Instagram. It even has its own Instagram site to showcase the work of a global bunch of designers.

I admire Victoria’s work – there is a certain free spirit about it that I just love. Her colour combinations are unique. Her style fun and playful.

Below is a little grouping of a few of the experimental pieces she started out with. Visit her Instagram site for more insight on her project and a viewing of her current pieces.

Victoria Johnson for #alittleart

I asked others to share their work to give you a sense of the variety of options there are to play with. The only restriction here is size, 2.5″ wide, other than that it is free game.

There are so many reasons to participate. Here are my top five.

(click on the images below to go directly to the artist websites)

Studiobarabom for #alittleart

1.Little art is manageable. It can be completed in one sitting. If time is not on your side than this is a good way to get creative with little commitment.

Tanasa Elena-Daniela for #alittleart

2.Watercolor, collage, paint, markers, mixed media – anything goes.If you are interested in trying something totally different, than this is the place to give it a try.

Janet Broxon for #alittleart

3. Experimental – small art is a perfect place to try new things! Maybe there is a new technique or a different way of expressing yourself that you are interested in experimenting with. Maybe some new colours,composition or textures. Small art is perfect to play with.

Deborah Velasquez for #alittleart

4.Little art goes Big – I have been using my little art to explore composition and themes for Big art. Think of your little art as a thumbnail sketch for bigger things to come.

Claire Wilson for #alittleart

5. Community – A place to ask opinions, get inspired and meet other like-minded creatives. I love seeing what others are posting and what they are using their little art for.

My little art all lined up. I have been playing around with painted and collaged papers in a grid like form. I have been working intuitively just to see how things go together. From there I have started working on a larger scale with concentration on my composition.

I have to admit I am loving these and excited about the possibility of re-working them into the world of art licensing. I can envision these as greeting cards, art prints, fabric panels, oh the list in endless (I hope!)

More info on that creative process at a later date.

Drop by and give #alittleart a try. If you have any revelations or insight to share about your process, I would love to hear them!

I am not sure how the seasons changed so quickly, but they did. I had decided to take the month of August off blogging due to a house full of children, visitors, a road trip or two and lots of work all mixed in. Here it is the end of September and I am just finding my way back here.

What can I say?

It was an awesome summer.

We did a little of this…

A little of that…

A lot of this….

There was no shortage of adventure, sights to see and good summer fun. I already miss it.

I am sharing with you a few links to courses that kept me creatively curious this summer. All of them from Creative Bug.

Pam Garrisons Creative Sketchbooking – A three-part series working from journal to canvas. Lots of interesting mark making techniques and exercises – working with your non dominant hand, intuitive drawing, paper collage and lots of mixed media.

I love Pam’s use of colour and style. It was very interesting to me to see how she approaches her work. She makes it all seem so simple and random, but, wow, does she have great results. For more viewing pleasure check out #cbsketchbooking on instagram.

Next up was Lisa Congdons Sketchbook Exploration – a four-part series working from sketchbook to canvas. Lots of line work, mixed media, collage and abstract work as well, but a totally different approach than Pam’s class. She inspired me to get out my markers and pencil crayons and I have re-discovered a whole new medium which is not only easy to use anywhere, but very satisfying in the mark making department.

I managed to take a little bit away from both courses and adapt to my own style, painting and pasting my way to a finished piece.

Finally I started Yao Chengs Watercolour class, but then life got too busy and I had to put it on hold. I am looking forward to the rainy season here in Whistler to get caught up on my learning. Rumour has it that Lisa’s Sketchbook Explorations Part Two has also gone live. I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, but I am definitely looking forward to it.

I may have a slight case of the Summertime Blues. All I want and need right now is more summer.

I can feel life slowly starting to shift around here. The mornings are damp, the air has a crispness to it and there is talk of going back to school. I have four weeks to go until September and my plan is to savour every minute.

Inspired by my mood, this weeks colour palette is brought to you by the colour Blue.

Life is just a bit crazy around here these days with guests and a never-ending stream of kids in my kitchen.

I have taken to working in small short bursts that do not demand too much concentration. Small scraps of painted cut art are working in my favour. When I finally do get a moment of uninterrupted time, I can put them all together into something that works.

I have also continued with my sketchbook explorations inspired by Lisa Congdon’s Creative Bug course.